Seoul , South Korea -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- North Korea has angrily denied allegations that it punished some of its citizens for inadequately mourning the death of its late leader Kim Jong Il .

Kim died last month after 17 years of repressive rule over the secretive state , setting off deep uncertainty about North Korea 's future .

The North Korean regime commemorated his death with elaborately choreographed ceremonies broadcast on state-run media that showed crowds of mourners beating their chests and wailing with grief in the snow-covered streets of Pyongyang .

Over the weekend , a report from the state-run Korean Central News Agency lashed out at `` misinformation '' that citizens who had `` failed to show tears at memorial services were sent to a concentration camp . ''

It attributed the allegations to `` reptile media under the control '' of a group of `` traitors '' that it said were connected to President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea .

The news agency appeared to be referring to a report last week by the South Korean news website Daily NK , which monitors developments in the North through a network of sources inside the country .

Citing an unidentified person in North Korea , Daily NK reported that `` the authorities are handing down at least six months in a labor-training camp to anybody who did n't participate in the organized gatherings during the mourning period , or who did participate but did n't cry and did n't seem genuine . ''

The president of Daily NK , Park In-ho , said that the information for its report had come from a North Korean citizen in North Hamgyong Province , which borders China . The unidentified North Korean relayed the information to a Daily NK reporter using an illegal Chinese mobile phone -- commonly used items among people living in the border areas -- Park said .

Information from the North is usually communicated to Daily NK reporters in China , who then pass it on to South Korea , according to Park .

North Korea significantly restricts the ability of international news organizations to freely report within its territory .

Daily NK was founded and then spun off by the Network for North Korean Democracy and Human Rights Network , a nonprofit organization that aims to promote human rights in North Korea . Daily NK has received tens of thousands of dollars in funding from the National Endowment for Democracy , a U.S. nonprofit organization that is supported financially by the U.S. Congress through the Department of State .

The Korean Central News Agency report over the weekend expressed anger that the Daily NK report had coincided with Pyongyang 's own announcement of a prisoner amnesty in connection with the birthdays this year of two late North Korean dictators -- Kim Jong Il and his father , Kim Il Sung , the founder of the North Korean nation .

`` This evil deed could be done only by the despicable guys hell-bent on letting loose invectives and telling lies , '' the KCNA report said .

North Korea has not specified how many prisoners will be released under amnesty , due to begin February 1 .

International organizations estimate that the North Korean regime holds approximately 200,000 political prisoners .

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The state-run North Korean news agency attacks `` misinformation '' from `` reptile media ''

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South Korean website reports North Koreans were punished for not mourning enough

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The mourning concerns Kim Jong Il , the North Korea leader who died last month

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The South Korean report is based on an anonymous source inside North Korea